Veterans vs New Wave
by Feline Freak
Summary: The 300th Bionicle story! A collection of pearls from some of the greates authors of the section: Green Devil, Saya of Purity, Goldenrod and Feline Freak face each other in a historical event that has never happened before. Please read and review!
1. Before Reading

**Before you start reading...**

This is not a normal fanfic. This is a collection of four one-shots from four different authors: Saya of Purity, Goldenrod, Green Devil and myself. We wrote these to celebrate the 300th Bionicle story, and they sent their own to me so I could publish them in a single, great, 300th story.

Which means that I don't want reviews like: "Aaaw, but this isn't your story! You don't have the right to post it here! Flame flame flame reporting!" I asked them for permission to post this, and there are credits to them in each chapter. You can check. I don't steal stories, I can write my own!

Next point to clear out: the title.

Why IS this collection called New Authors vs Veterans? Well, because this collection is, especially, a contest. And _you,_ the readers,are the judges.

There will be seven prizes in total: for the first three most reviewed, for the first three with the most votes, and one for the team that wins.

Now this is how this works:

For the three with the most reviews: readers will have to review the stories, **_on the right page._ **That means: if you want to review Saya's story, you review on the page with Saya's story. If you want to review Goldenrod's story, you revew on the page with Goldenrod's story. You're allowed to review more than one, but them, please give separate reviews. Or, if you can't help it because your computer is stupid, make sure you **_point out clearly _**to which story they go!

I'll then check out in my story stat which are the three stories which the most reviews, and then they'll win.

_This contest ends when this "story" drops to the 2nd page!_

For the most votes: like with the reviews, you'll have to vote for the _one story_ you found best. Here it's not importan where you review (though best on the first page), just make sure you write out clearly to whom goes the votes.

I'll then count all tho votes, and the three stories with the most votes win.

_This contest ends when a) someone got more than double the votes than all the others or b) when this story drops to the 2nd page_

For the new authors vs veterans: Done this, done that... there are two teams in this story. "New Authors" and "Veterans". Once the prizes will be given, I'll sum up the votes and reviews of the two members of each team, and the team with the most votes AND reviews, will win!

Q - What happens if one teams has more votes and one team more reviews?

A – I'll beat up the readers, then post a fifth chapter to find judges to decide which team should win. How _that _works, you'll find out when it comes to it.

**You are allowed to give anonymous reviews, while votes have to be given logged in. However IF I SEE THAT ONE STORY MYSTERIOUSLY GETS 50 REVIEWS, I'LL DELETE THEM!**

**IMPORTANT: SAYA'S STORY WAS ALREADY POSTED AND GOT 10 REVIEWS AT THE TIME. SO IF THOSE PEOPLE DON'T REVIEW AGAIN BECAUSE IT'S ME POSTING IT, SHE'S ALLOWED TO TELL ME TO ADD THEM. I trust her not to make up any names, besides, I have the list of the reviewers of the time anyway, so she can't trick me. :P**

**ALL AUTHORS ARE ALLOWED TO TELL THEIR FRIENDS ABOUT THEIR STORY, UNLESS ASKED OTHERWHISE**

which means: if you have something against this rule, tell me and I'll take it off)

Have a nice reading and don't forget to review!


	2. The Perfect Start

Author: Green Devil  
Title: The Perfect Start   
Rating: T (or PG13)   
Publisher: Feline Freak  
Genre: Romance/General_  
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Notes: Green Devil is the queen of Yaoi in the Bionicle section. So what else could we get from her if not a fanfic containing some of her best known pairings? A fun fanfic where the only victim is a poor tree who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong moment.

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_Disclaimer (By GD):_ I don't own any of the characters mentioned in this story. They all belong to Lego and/or anyone else who owns them. This story also contains yaoi, slash, and/or shounen ai which all mean boyxboy love. If you don't like that kind of thing, don't read. Enjoy! X3 

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"**_The Perfect Start"_**

_**By: Green Devil**_

A giggle pierced the cool night air permeating the jungle area surrounding the Kini Nui, where all of Mata Nui had gathered to celebrate the coming of the New Year. All had hoped that it would go better than the last with no attacks, captures, or losses, but deep down they knew this was not to be. By traveling to a new island—Metru Nui—they'd be exposing themselves to more, perhaps even greater, danger. They wouldn't let that fact bog down their time of peace, however, and continued to party the night away to upbeat music, matoran from every village blending together to create a multicolored sea around the great shrine, where the Turaga stood looking on happily.

It was a little ways away from the festivities that were taking place that another shout of laughter sounded mixed with what could barely be called a protest. Five Toa Nuva sat lounging around together, chuckling while a sixth walked over to the crystal clear lake beside them with a seventh slung over his shoulder, half-heartedly beating on his back for release. The Toa of Earth, illuminated by moonlight, dropped the Toa of Air into the water with a grin.

Lewa gave a cry before hitting the surface, a wall of liquid shooting up as he was submerged. He wasn't fond of water, which was the reason for the stunt, but it's not like he wouldn't play in it, so long as he had someone else with him that is. With an impish smile lining his lips, he broke through the surface once again with a hail of clear droplets and brought Onua in with him. A chorus of laughter from all but the Toa of Ice erupted as the two happily dunked, splashed, and wrestled each other.

While watching the scene, Takanuva became giddy with joy and couldn't keep himself away from the play any longer. He ran over and jumped in, followed by Gali soon after, who couldn't have been happier to see her fellow Toa so united now. They finally had time to just enjoy things, and that they did.

"Come on Pohatu! That water's fine!" the Toa of Light called, waving his friend over.

The Toa of Stone could only shake his head with a sad smile. "Water and stone don't mix too well, but you go ahead and have fun for me." He replied, shooing the other off.

Tahu chuckled beside him. "Why don't you just go? You know you want to. It's not like the water will kill you."

"Actually, it could. I'll sink like a rock!" Pohatu protested, throwing his arms up for emphasis.

The Toa of Fire rolled his eyes and shifted his back against the tree he was sitting against. "Not if you stay in the shallows. Now go have fun. That's an order." He smirked, arms crossing over his chest.

The Stone Toa smiled. "Well, I guess you got a point there." He gave a sigh. "Fine, but why aren't you guys going? It's not like it'll kill you either."

Kopaka simply continued to watch the scene, not caring to give an explanation. He didn't enjoy playing around with others and that was that. Tahu on the other hand would much rather be playing a game with the Ice Toa than any of the others. He looked up at his partner leaning against the same tree with a mischievous glint in his crimson eyes. "Kopaka and I have some other things to do, but you guys go ahead. Stay here and have fun. We'll be bringing in the new year in our own way." He turned back to his stone brother and offered a wink.

Pohatu smirked, getting the hint. "Alright. Have fun then. Whoo!" he ran for the lake and splashed through the shallow water until it reached his waist. That was as far as he was willing to go. He dowsed his friends as they did the same to him. As soon as he was gone, the Fire Toa stood and grabbed the snowy one's arm, pulling him further into the jungle where they wouldn't be disturbed. Their fellow Toa stopped their play to watch them leave and shared a knowing laugh after they had gone before resuming their fun.

It was only a few minutes until midnight when the five Toa finally pulled themselves out of the water exhaustedly, their laughter dying down to gasps for air. They lay on the grass-covered ground and gazed up at the millions of stars littering the blackened sky. An astrologer would look up and read the constellations to predict an upcoming threat or something good, but now was not the time for that. At a time of peace such as this, the stars were simply admired for what they were—beautiful—and none shone brighter than the seven spirit stars belonging to the Toa Nuva of Mata Nui, which promised never to be extinguished.

Orbs of jade soon began to drift from the sight to one of even more magnificence—the wet Toa of Air lying beside him, a breathtaking smile on his emerald lips. Lime-kissed eyes met the Earth Toa's gaze after feeling it on him and he happily snuggled into the elder's side, strong arms wrapping around his waist as he did so.

"Look at the moons. It'll be midnight any second now." Gali offered her brothers, pointing out the position of the twin sources of light. Indeed, they were just about to reach their highest place in the night sky. Just as she predicted, a few seconds later, the fireworks set up at the Kini Nui went off, signaling the beginning of a brand new year filled with adventure. None knew what it would bring, but they'd gladly face it together.

Illuminated by explosions of different colors, Onua and Lewa started the year off with a tender, loving kiss while the others shared a small laugh at their expense. Far off cheering could be heard between booms from the matoran gathered at the great shrine, signaling that all had gone well with them. Everything was perfect, the entire island in celebration.

A grand finale of colors and loud blasts signaled the display's end, a simply spectacular sight to behold that left the sky feeling rather empty without the flashing lights. A cool breeze chose to chill the still drying Toa then, almost as if telling them that they'd find greater warmth elsewhere. They heeded the suggestion.

"What do you say we join the matoran in celebration? I'm sure they'd like that." The Toa of Air spoke up, happily jumping to his feet and pulling his love up with him. His fellow Toa nodded.

"Sure! Let's go party the night away!" Pohatu grinned, pumping his fist in the air. They traveled the short distance to the Kini Nui and were greeted warmly by the gathered throng. The Toa were quickly separated, pulled into different areas by the matoran of their respective villages that wished to party with them.

It was a long night and it didn't end until the first rays of the twin suns peaked over the horizon. The tired matoran then made their way back to their villages with smiles on their faces and a Toa to escort them home. The Le-matoran were the least reluctant to leave, seeing as they could go at it for days with all the energy they had, but Matau eventually got them to leave with the promise that they could continue at Le-Koro.

All was quiet on the island, save for the ruckus in a certain tree-top village that is. It was a time of peace and though he was locked in a deep, never ending sleep, the spirit known as Mata Nui smiled, truly happy for his biomechanical beings.

It was the perfect start to the new year.

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	3. Goldenrod's story

Author: Goldenrod  
Title: Unknown  
Rating: K+ (or PG)  
Publisher: Feline Freak  
Genre: Action/Adventure/General

Note: When Goldenrod PMed me this story, I had to face the fact that during the PM it had been all bunched up and that it was hard to understand where a paragraph ended and where one began. Luckily, Goldenrod has a clean, easily readable style, and it took me only fifteen minutes to turn it in what you can read here. This is the only story where I had to directly edit something, but it was worth it. Another action-filled Metru Nuian story from Goldenrod, written in perfect Bionicle style that could be used for the official books. Though the title DID get lost, in the end, the story is still here. Read and enjoy it! And hope that Goldenrod will remember the forgotten title.

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Disclaimer: I don't own Bionicle.

Chaos. Everywhere he looked, his fellow Matoran were panicking, screaming and running for cover. 'This is insane,' he thought to himself. The day had started out simple enough: he woke up and got right to work on a carving that was due in a few days. No more than what must've been an hour and a half later, he suddenly heard a commotion going on outside—and it got louder. Within minutes, an entire crowd was rushing past his hut. "What's going on?" he asked a Matoran whose arm he managed to grab.

"Rock raptors!" the Po-Matoran exclaimed breathlessly.

Both Matoran turned at the sound of a loud hiss—apparently, the raptors were closing in. Both Matoran found themselves running with the crowd, trying to put as much distance between them and the Rahi as possible. Though far more than one Matoran found themselves stumbling to the ground, some of their brethren would help them to their feet before they got too badly trampled. Thankfully, soon after, the local Vahki arrived. While the law enforcers tried to subdue the animals, the Matoran headed for a location up on the cliffs where they would be safe and out of the way. When he got up to the top, Onewa noticed more Matoran running across the bridge and were being directed by two Vahki Zadakh. The clash between the Rahi and Vahki down below was actually so intense it rose up a dust cloud so thick that the other side of the canyon could not be seen. Suddenly, two more raptors appeared, and their eyes were on the congregated Matoran. The Vahki noticed and moved in to interceptthe Rahi.

"Help!" a voice called from the vicinity of the bridge. "Somebody help me!" Onewa didn't need his eyes to now know that someone was in trouble.

"No one's paying attention," he said to himself as he noticed that, because they were busy with the raptors, the Vahki didn't seem to notice the cry. That left only thing to do—go himself.

Steeling himself, he sprinted toward the bridge, ignoring the Vahki's snarls which he guessed were orders to come back, and disappeared into the dust cloud. Onewa walked slowly, keeping his ears open and noting that the call he heard a moment before seemed to come from near the half point of the bridge. A few moments passed, which felt like hours to him, and Onewa didn't hear any further calls for help. In fact, he hadn't heard anything other than the clashing between the Vahki and Rahi. He was just wondering about the possibility that he was just hearing things when his foot caught on something. He let out a startled yelp as he fell forward. Looking behind him, he found what he had tripped on was a taut length of cable. "Is somebody there?" a voice asked.

Judging from the proximity, Onewa guessed that it came from somewhere over the edge, "Hello down there."

"Hello?" the voice inquired.

The dust cleared up a bit and Onewa could barely see a figure and the shape of a Kanohi Huna. It was a Ta-Matoran, and he was hanging upside down with the cable tangled around his ankle. There was a mixture of fear and hope in his eyes when he spotted Onewa. "Please, help me," the Ta-Matoran pleaded.

"Hang on, I'll pull you up," Onewa replied, and he started pulling while the Matoran tried to remain perfectly still.

However, the task proved to be more difficult than Onewa thought; already his arms ached with the effort, but he was determined and kept pulling. 'Almost there,' he said to himself, noticing that the Matoran was nearing the edge. On the other end, the Ta-Matoran, Vakama, felt relief for a brief moment before noticing something that caught his breath in his throat. There was a tear in the cable and it was going to break. Before he could warn the Po-Matoran, the tear snapped. For a split second, Vakama felt himself falling, when his body came to an abrupt halt, feeling like his heart had fallen into his throat. Wildly looking around, he was amazed to find that he was not dead. Still upside down, but not dead. Glancing up, he found that the Po-Matoran who pulled him up was now clasping his ankle. "Gotcha," he said, trying to smile even though it was taking every ounce of strength he had left to hold on.

Suddenly, Vakama noticed a shadow appear behind the Po-Matoran, "Look out!"

Onewa looked over his shoulder and saw a creature that he never in all of his life imagined he would have the 'privilege' to see face-to-face—a live Rahkshi. The creature held up its staff, preparing to strike the Matoran, and there was nothing Onewa could do. Just when it looked like it was all over for the two Matoran, the Rahkshi got struck by a blast of fire. Looking to their right, Onewa and Vakama saw a figure surfing through the air—Toa Lhikan. While the Toa chased off the Rahkshi, Onewa set himself up, Vakama reached out his hand, and Onewa pulled him up. Though Onewa was tired, he couldn't rest yet. The Rahkshi was too close for comfort; he and the Ta-Matoran had to get away from there. Following the Ta-Matoran, he raced across the bridge to safety.

After an hour, the raptors were gone and, though the Vahki weren't as successful with the Rahkshi, they did manage to chase it away. Personally, Onewa was relieved that he didn't have to worry about being reprimanded by the Vahki for disobeying orders. Apparently, Toa Lhikan put in a good word for him to the order enforcers. As he left the Assembler's Village, the Toa of Fire made note of the Po-Matoran builder's courage. Meanwhile, at the Village, with the danger passed, the Matoran had gone back to their daily routines: Onewa tried to make up for lost time on his carving and Vakama had to get back to Ta-Metru. While miles apart, the two Matoran realized the same thought at around the end of the day, 'I never got his name!' After getting across the bridge, the two lost each other in the crowd. Whereas Onewa just shrugged his shoulders, deciding that knowing he helped someone in trouble was good enough, Vakama made a personal note that if he ever either learned that Po-Matoran's name, or saw him, he would thank him.

A month later, both Onewa and Vakama found themselves at the Great Temple, along with four other Matoran, one from each metru. Vakama thought the Po-Matoran looked familiar, but wasn't sure why. The next thing they all knew, after placing the Toa stones Toa Lhikan gave them and receiving a message from the Toa himself, they were transformed into Toa Metru, the new guardians of Metru Nui. Soon after, Vakama had a vision about the impending fall of Metru Nui and, though some were skeptical, the decision was made that they were to find the Great Disks and bring them to Turaga Dume. Once Nokama, the new Toa of Water, read off the clues to the locations of the Great Disks, the group split up. Suddenly, it hit Vakama and he quickly caught Onewa's arm, "Wait!"

"What?" the Toa of Stone asked with a slight glare.

"You're him, aren't you?" asked the Fire Toa.

Onewa's response was an odd look, not too different from the one he had when Vakama told him and the others about his vision.

"A month ago, I was in Po-Metru, making a delivery. The Assembler's Village came under attack by a pack of rock raptors and a Rahkshi. My foot got caught in a cable and I stumbled and fell off a bridge. I called, but no one seemed to hear me. Then, I felt the cable quiver, I saw a Po-Matoran looking down at me, and he pulled me back up. That was you, wasn't it?"

Onewa's eyes widened in recognition, "Yeah, it was."

Smiling, Vakama held out his hand, "I never got a chance to, at least, thank you."

Onewa looked at the hand, then at Vakama, and grinned as he grasped it. "It was nothing," he said as he firmly, yet gently, shook the Toa of Fire's hand, "but this doesn't change a thing about what I think about your little 'vision'."

The Toa of Stone then left, leaving Vakama to roll his eyes and shake his head with a slight smile. He guessed, for now, it was too much to ask for Onewa and the others to believe he really did have a vision. With that resolved, he departed in the direction of Ta-Metru to find his Great Disk in the 'root of fire'.


	4. Tahu's Hypnotize

Author: Saya Moonshadow  
Title: Tahu's Hypnotize  
Rating: T (or PG13)   
Publisher: Feline Freak   
Genre: Drama/Angst

Notes: If Green Devil's trademark is yaoi, then Saya's is songfics. Everyone who spends a bit more time in the Bionicle section has already read at least one of her many one-shots, filled with feeling and beautiful lyrics. And one of her best songfics is "Tahu's Concrete Angel" For the 300th story, here's the prequel to it for yet another, feeling filled songfic that just can't be forgotten.

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******For Feline Freak's contest! Somewhat of a prequel to "Tahu's Concrete Angel". This tells of how Sarah received the Tahu toy a little more than a year before the incident with her mother. (Read "Tahu's Concrete Angel" for more information.)**

******Also, Sarah may seem a lot more...ah...SURLY in this one. Think about it. She's alone and friendless, who WOULDN'T be surly? Don't kill me.**

******Disclaimer: -opens wallet and a bug flies out- Nope. Still don't own Bionicle. I DO own Sarah, her mom, and all other HUMAN characters in this fic, though. Only the humans. MEH! "Hypnotize" belongs to System of a Down.**

******Tahu's Hypnotize**

Before the Concrete Angel went to heaven...before she found her first friend...she had nothing.

Not even a heart.

_Why don't you ask the kids at Tiananmen Square?   
Was fashion the reason why they were there...?_

"Can anyone guess what the special holiday activity will be?"

Several small hands in the kindergarten classroom shot up, with the tiny children they were attached to all squeaking for attention and making suggestions. The teacher smiled, looking over each one to see if any had the right idea. She pointed to a small boy with a messy mop of brown hair.

"Yes, Tyler?"

"Are we gonna have a party, Ms. Elridge?" the child asked hopefully.

The teacher smiled, but shook her head. "Not really, Tyler. In a way, yes, but we will be doing something else as well. Does anyone know what it is?"

Several more small children began to pipe up.

"Food!"

"Making cookies!"

"Decoratin' a Christmas tree!"

"Presents?"

"Yes!" Ms. Elridge crowed, singling out the little girl who had made the last suggestion. The girl in question had long dark hair and big, expressive green eyes. Her skin was very pale and seemed to stretch over her tiny frame like a too small glove. Her white shirt was tattered and dirty under the long tannish overcoat she was wearing, and an even more tattered pair of jeans adorned her skinny legs. Her shoes? Terrible, to be mild.

This little girl now blushed and smiled, feeling proud for being able to guess her teacher's intentions correctly. It wasn't every day that happened, after all. Maybe she was just a genius.

It actually made her feel...worthy.

She watched as Ms. Elridge continued. "Yes, as she has just said, we will be giving out presents to each other! But, you're not going to know who will be giving you the gift. You'll be playing 'Secret Santa' for Christmas! Who's excited?!"

Everyone in the room cheered - with the exception of the dark haired girl with big, expressive green eyes.

"Who will MY Secret Santa be, Ms. Elridge?" someone cried out.

Ms. Elridge's smile grew. "Well, it wouldn't be a secret if you knew who your Secret Santa was, now would it, Maurine? You won't know until you get the gift. Whoever gave you the gift will put a card on it, telling you Merry Christmas, and then saying who they are. Everyone understand?"

"YES!" the whole class cheered.

"It'll be fun!" a little girl cried, jumping up and dancing back and forth between her seat and the next one over. But, she knocked into the other seat so hard that its occupant was thrown to the floor.

Everyone laughed.

"Haha, look at Sarah!" one of the boys laughed. "She fell on the floor!" They laughed harder.

Sarah Michelle Lawrence of 216 Mountain Lane gave them a withering look, her cheeks very red from embarrassment, and gracefully attempted to sit back down.

Attempted to is the key word here.

The boy behind her grabbed her chair with his foot and yanked it out from under her. She crashed to the floor again. Once more, the whole class roared with laughter.

Ms. Elridge helped Sarah up and gave the other kindergarteners such a glare that they all shut up immediately. "You know, I have half a mind to not do ANYTHING for Christmas this year and have you all give just Sarah gifts!" she snapped. "And mark my words, I'll do it if I see ONE more person picking on her! Am I understood?"

"Yes, Ms. Elridge," was echoed through the classroom, and the teacher began handing out slips that said the name of the person each child was to play Secret Santa for.

No one noticed the terrible scowl upon Sarah's face. There was just one problem with this "Secret Santa" business.

She didn't have any money.

_They disguise it, hypnotize it  
Television made you buy it..._

X x X

Of all the toys in the shop, there was none that was shinier than the canister containing a small red Bionicle figurine. The picture on the front of the canister showed a tall crimson figure, with a blazing sword made out of flames, and a proud mask with glaring pinkish eyes.

It was the envy of all the other toys in the shop for its shiny boldness and ability to catch the eye of any child.

Too bad it was in the back of the shelf, hidden by these other troublesome, less shiny, canisters containing tiny likenesses of its teammates.

It was invisible.

But not for long.

Because sometime soon, the toy knew, it would be given to the one who needed it more than anything.

And so it - he - HE waited.

His time was coming soon enough.

_I'm just sitting in my car and waiting for my..._

X x X

Sarah quietly skulked past the room just beyond the front door of the house, taking care not make even a SOUND as the house's OTHER occupant slept fitfully on the couch, snoring like an elephant. An entire plateful of burnt out cigarettes and a couple bottles of beer decorated the beaten up wooden table in front of said couch. The little girl suppressed a sneer.

Her mother, Betty Lawrence. If anyone was evil, it would be her. She was the reason Sarah's clothes were more tattered and dirty than a dishrag, and make no mistake, Sarah was not happy.

Not like there was anything she could do, though.

But...that Secret Santa thing...gah, there was only three days till she had to get a gift for that stupid Aaron, the one who'd pulled her chair from under her earlier that day. She had no idea what to get him. Like she could. She had no money, and the day her mother would consent to helping her with something would be the day the moon spontaneously exploded.

Sarah sighed aggravatedly. It was obvious what she'd have to do.

Getting out an old shoebox, a pair of scissors, and a bunch of old, two-inch high Indian and cowboy figurines from her closet, she got to work.

_She's scared that I will take her away from there  Dreams that her country left with no one there..._

X x X

"Hey, Mom, look!"

Who was that?

"Look, Mom! It's red!"

A sigh. "Yes, Michael. It's red. Is that the toy you want to get for that Secret Santa thing? Not this Elmo?"

A laugh, sounding as if it came from a relatively young creature. "Sure I'm sure! Sarah likes red, and this toy's really REALLY cool! Can I get it for her?"

The toy began to feel a tad bit excited. Could it be time?

The woman known as "Mom" sighed again, but then laughed tiredly. "Don't you think she'd prefer something a little more...girly? Or looking less like a bug? That thing looks like a cockroach."

Oh. So they WEREN'T talking about him, after all. Mata Nui, he had to complete his mission!

The little boy sighed as well. "OK, OK..." Then, "Hey, look, another red one! It's the fire guy! Mom, can I get it for Sarah? PLLLLEEEAAASSSEEEE?!"

His mother sighed exasperatedly, but this time, seemed to decide that arguing was worthless. "Alright, alright, alright! Get her that...Tahu thing. But if she doesn't like it, don't come crying to me, got it?"

"Oh Mom, she'll like it! I like it, so she will too!"

The toy's excitement came back and tripled as he felt his canister being picked up and put into a basket.

_Mesmerize the simple minded  
Propaganda leaves us blinded..._

X x X

The sounds of a small child crying echoed from the small pink room, but the sobs were reserved, almost as if whoever was making them was trying desperately to stop them from coming out at all. Her shoebox scene that she had so painstakingly made lay safe in the closet, still complete and in tact, but the same could not be said for its maker.

She lay in a heap on the floor, head buried in her arms as she cried her heart out, the pain from her mother's fists upon her body still not having faded away.

"_You're just like him, you vile little worm! Just like him, not a bit different! I HATE YOU! DIE! Just DIE!"_

"I'm sorry, Mommy..." she whispered, tears rolling off her face and onto the threadbare carpet.

"I can't."

X x X

The day for the Secret Santa arrived at last. The children of Ms. Elridge's kindergarten class all burst into the classroom, each one carrying a carefully wrapped present with a brightly colored bow attached to the top and a card. Some cards were handmade, others had been bought at the store by parents or grandparents for this project. All of said family members were loving and doting. Some TOO loving and doting.

And then there was Sarah.

Her gift was wrapped neatly in an old cloth, which she had obviously tried to scrub clean for that day's event. The card didn't even have an envelope, and had "AARON" written on it in smudged red crayon. It was a bit hard to see against the dull red of the construction paper card, but at least one could read it.

Which was more than could be said for most of the other cards.

Ms. Elridge managed to gather her fifteen students into a circle and put their gifts around the small Christmas tree at the front of the room, smiling hugely as she did so. Five year olds were just so precious. Annoying little buggers, but way too cute for words, really.

"So, who got a present for their classmates?" she called out in a singsong voice.

"ME!" the whole class cried out, "I DID!"

"Good!" she smiled again, "But now we have to give them out. Who wants to go first?" A sea of hands shot up, and she shook her head. "We can't all go at once! We must pick someone...hmm...Alright Jake, who do you think got you a gift?"

"Samantha!" the little blonde haired boy yelled, grinning cheekily at the girl three places to his left. "EW!" she cried in reply, hiding behind the girl next to her. The whole class laughed, as did Ms. Elridge, who then said, "Apparently not, Jake. One more guess before we tell you!"

And so on and so on.

_I'm just sitting in my car and waiting for my girl..._

Sarah tapped her fingers on the ground impatiently, although to tell the truth, she was dreading having to give her gift to Aaron. She just KNEW he was going to laugh, and then so would the rest of the class...she hated being an outcast.

And sure enough...

"Aaron, who do YOU think got you a gift?"

Aaron looked suspiciously at his classmates, tongue poking out of his mouth as he thought. His eyes fell on Sarah, who was visibly cringing, and he smirked.

"Sarah!"

"Sarah, did you get Aaron a gift?" Ms. Elridge asked, still smiling. Sarah nodded grudgingly and stood to get the gift out from the pile around the tree. More twig than tree, really. She handed it to Aaron, not looking at him, and mumbled, "Here." Then, she and the others watched as he tore the dirty rag off, not even looking at the card. He opened up the shoebox and looked inside.

To her consternation, he began to laugh. And laugh and laugh and laugh. "Look!" he cried, jumping up to show it to the rest of the class. "She made me a cowboys and Indians thing!"

"What a loser!" someone in the circle called out, and everyone began to laugh again, harder. Ms. Elridge frowned, and Sarah's pale cheeks flushed deep, deep red. How she hated being the class outcast.

"Well, I think it's a LOVELY gift!" the teacher broke in, glaring sternly at the students. They shut up immediately. "She obviously worked very hard to make it, didn't you, Sarah?"

"Yes..." Sarah hissed between clenched teeth, hands balled into fists. She wasn't going to cry, she wasn't going to cry, she wasn't going to cry...

"I mean, look at it!" Ms. Elridge grabbed the shoebox from Aaron's hands and held it up for them all to see. Indeed, a very detailed scene, crafted completely from construction paper, crayons, glue, tape, and cowboy and Indian figurines was held within the old, battered box, locked in combat forever. "It's lovely! Class, I think we have an artist here."

"Could _I_ be an artist too, Ms. Elridge?" a girl named Amy squeaked out. "Indeed you could, Amy!" the teacher replied. "Any one of you could! Now, moving on...Sarah, who do you think got YOU a gift?"

Sarah shrugged. "No one?" she suggested.

This earned a couple more titters from the class, although this time it wasn't derogatory laughter. She allowed herself a near-invisible smile.

"No! I got you something!" one little boy cried, jumping up and yanking the last gift out from under the tree. He shoved it into her hands, shouting, "MERRY CHRISTMAS, SARAH LAWRENCE!"

Sarah blinked as the messily wrapped gift was shoved into her small hands, looking down at it in surprise. "Thank...you, Michael...?"

"No problem!" Michael chirped, and sat back down, beaming hugely.

"Are you going to open it, Sarah?" Ms. Elridge asked.

Sarah shook her head. "Not yet...I'm going to wait until I get home to open it." She shoved it into her backpack and didn't give it a second thought.

X x X

It was very late at night before Sarah remembered the gift she had so carelessly stuffed into her backpack that morning. She had been surprised Michael had even bothered to get her a gift, but that was Michael for you, she thought. He was a friendly and hyper kid, always looking to make friends. She had met his mom once, a cheerful but tired-looking woman, who had seemed to really like her...

So much unlike her own mother.

"I'm NOT like him," she mumbled, fumbling with her backpack and yanking the present out, ignoring the clattering sounds from within. "I'm not like him at all." She tore the messy wrapping job off the gift, and blinked in surprise.

It was a small...canister-like thing, with a tall, red figure on front, holding a glowing sword of...whoa, was that FIRE? Awesome! She yanked the top off and spilled the pieces onto the floor. An instruction manual flopped out right after that.

"Awesome!" she whispered, looking at it, and then opened the book. "Step one," she read, "attach this one to..."

An hour later, she was done, and the assembled figurine looked proudly back at her from her cot. She picked it up carefully. "Do you MIND?"

Sarah nearly screamed from shock and dropped the toy. It landed with a soft plop on her cot, and then - this was the weird part! - it turned its HEAD to look at her! Its eyes were a bright pinkish-red, and very...comforting.

_I'm just sitting in my car and waiting for my girl..._

"I said, do you MIND not holding me like that?" it snapped at her tiredly. "You're knocking my mask off."

"S-sorry." Sarah shakily picked it up again and set it down on its feet on the floor, gently this time.

"That's better." the toy said. It extended its left hand - the one without the sword - as if it wanted her to shake. "That aside, I'm pleased to meet you, Sarah. My name's Tahu."

Sarah smiled, too entranced by the fact that her new toy was TALKING to her to care about the fact that that was just what it was doing - talking to her. She took the offered hand in her own, between her thumb and pointer finger, and shook. "Pleased to meet you too, Tahu. How do you know my name?"

Tahu smiled at her. "I just knew. I heard you were in need of a friend. Is that true?"

She couldn't stop the tears that came at that last remark. Unable to speak, she just nodded. Tahu's smile grew.

"Good, cuz I need a friend too. It was lonely in that store. So, you don't mind if I stay here for a while and keep you company till you don't need me, right?"

"I'll NEVER throw you away!" Sarah cried vehemently. "Never! Not even if Mommy hits me and screams at me again! I'll keep you safe! I promise!"

Tahu chuckled. "Funny...I'm supposed to keep YOU safe." He looked up at the cot that served as her bed. "Well, the sun's down, and it's late. You should sleep, Sarah."

Sarah nodded and got into the cot, picking him up and tucking him in beside her. "You don't mind to sleep with me, right, Tahu?" she whispered softly. "I get nightmares real bad."

Tahu felt a deep sadness well up inside him, but managed to reply.

_I'm just sitting in my car and waiting for my girl..._

"Of course I don't mind. Just go to sleep. You'll need your strength. And Sarah?"

"Hm?"

"Don't be afraid to be sad. I'll be here for you."

"Promise?"

Silence.

"Tahu?"

She could have sworn she heard him sniffle, but was too tired to care.

"Yeah...I promise, Sarah."

"'K." She snuggled deeper under the covers, her small hand wrapped around him protectively.

_I'm just sitting in my car and waiting for my girl..._

**X x X**

******AN: And done! Prequel to "Tahu's Concrete Angel" is finished! Not as good as the other one, I know, but I wanted to show just how Tahu came to be in Sarah's possession, protecting her. Hope you enjoyed :)**

******Reviews, anyone?**


	5. Madu Cabolo

Author: Feline Freak  
Title: Madu Cabolo   
Rating: K + (or PG)  
Publisher: Feline Freak  
Genre: Action/Adventure/General

Note: While all other authors had something that identified them and their styles, this is definitely not one of my usual stories. Or is it? What **should **I have posted anyway? Of all the authors here, I'm probably the one with the most anonymous style, or maybe it's just that I'm the only one who doesn't have a third party to analyze what I write and explain it for me.

But this certainly it isn't one of my usual one-shots. In fact, this is a story I normally would have never written, if it weren't for the BZP Storyline and Theories contest. Because this is the story I wanted to submit to that contest, even though I knew I had no chance. That for several reasons 1) I'm not exactly well known on that site 2) PG is not my favorite rating and 3) I don't know enough about the Bionicle world anyway. I decide it to write it anyway, and see what would happen. Then I hit a snag: the healing herbs. I suddenly realized that if they weren't allowed, the story would be chucked out. So I PMed one of the admins there, who was nice enough to answer me the day before the deadline, at a time when I was sleeping and not able to answer. Moral of the story: I never got it to submit this.

So now, I post this story here. It might not be one of my best, or the one with the most feeling, but it's the one where I tried to adapt my style as far as possible to the Bionicle and LEGO world. I probably won't win this time either, but at least I found something to do with this piece of writing.

* * *

Disclaimer: Bionicle isn't mine. All the corny notes in the previous chapters (and in this), however, are. 

**Madu Cabolo**

Many Matoran think that Ga-Matoran are natural born healers. Well, they're wrong.

True, Ga-Matoran have developed the science of healing more than others, but they still have to learn the job. Some, the truly talented, learned it in a snap, others, like Kotu, took some more time.

It wasn't like she was a bad healer or anything. Simply, she wasn't patient enough to go through the long work of sorting healing herbs or studying the ancient art of curing. Whatever that was supposed to be, as Kotu had never really understood that.

Basically, Kotu's problem was that she preferred playing Kolhii with Macku instead of working and studying, so it was no doubt that, after one of the villagers fell in the water because someone had 'fixed the causeway that connected the various lily pads that formed Ga-Koro badly', Nokama gave her a long list and sent her to collect various types of herbs and plants, each one supposedly with a different healing quality.

Except that she had never heard of grass with healing qualities.

She huffed. Finding the things on Nokama's list had taken her all morning and good part of the afternoon. She had the slight suspect that that might have been the only point of that list. After all, what were a handful of leaves of Le-Koro jungle trees supposed to cure?

Still, she was proud of her finding, especially because she had found a handful of Madu Cabolo on her way back to the village, and a couple of ripe Madu too. Although she was weary about carrying the explosive fruits all that way, she decided it was worth the risk. She had already an idea of what she could do with them, bury them under the ground, drag some unwary Ga-Matoran to the place, and then throw a rock at the spot to blow up the sand at the right moment. As for the Cabolo… she'd see.

So she did, and then proceeded to fin the 'unwary Matoran'. She thought of who that could be. Amay, Nixie? Or maybe should she try with Macku?

Her thoughts were quickly blown away as she saw what was happening at her village. A huge, horned creature was stalking around it, trying to find the best way to enter it. From time to time, its head shot forwards and tried to hit some random Ga-Matoran that got too near to shore. A Kane-Ra was attacking her village.

Hey, weren't Kane-Ra supposed to live in Po-Wahi or Ko-Wahi?

The Kane-Ra snorted and started running up and down shore, annoyed at the fact that he couldn't reach the lily pads. His head suddenly shot forwards and hit one of the houses near to shore, his horns creating two twin holes in the wall. It stopped, then hit it again and again, pleased that it was finally managing to break something. Several dents and holes started appearing in the wall, and the building started wavering, threatening to collapse on itself and bury whatever or whoever was inside it beneath it. Kotu stood there, not knowing what to do. She was the only one who could save her village and she knew that, but what could she do? All she had with her were those stupid healing herbs! And half of them weren't any good.

It was then that Kotu suddenly remembered the Madu Cabolo she had in the bag. She took one out and threw it. They landed right in front of the bull and broke, spreading their gases in the air. The Kane-Ra recoiled and shook his head, irritated by the smell.

He immediately lost interest in the village and turned on Kotu instead. The Matoran gulped and started backing away, then broke into a run as the great, horned head struck the ground next to her. The Rahi snorted and charged.

As fast as Kotu was, she was no match for the Rahi, which gradually gained terrain on the Ga-Matoran. Another two or three strives, and he would've reached her.

Suddenly, Kotu skidded to the left, then back to the right again. The Rahi was slightly confused, but ran on, driven by sheer madness. One of his feet struck the three red flowers that Kotu had avoided, and before he knew it, he was flying through the air in a fountain of sand.

Kotu skidded to a spot and turned around. The Kane-Ra was temporarily dazed – if she was lucky even knocked out – but long to be defeated. She took out one more Madu Cabolo and threw it at his face. It splattered all over his eyes and nose.

It was too much for the Rahi. Already infuriated and crazed by the smell, it started jumping around pointlessly, shaking his head madly and trying to get rid of the thing that clung to his face and hurt his sensitive nostrils. Kotu gasped and ran away a second before the beasts' hooves hit the ground she had been standing on. She backed away another couple of bios, just in case.

This was not good. She had to find a way to calm the Rahi down as quickly as possible. Her thoughts flashed to the herbs she was carrying, remembering that some of them, after all, were actually good for something, and some of those were sleeping herbs. Now she just had to come up with some smart idea to get the Rahi to eat them…

She bumped against something and turned around to see she had crashed against a boat. Inside it, she noticed a big, strong net, used to catch the bigger fish that lurked in the bay. Just like it had happened with the sleeping herbs, seeing the net made an idea form in her mind. As the Rahi came nearer, she grabbed the scratchy thing and thrust it with all her might at the maddened Kane-Ra. But nets of that kind are too heavy and too large for a single Matoran, and so the attack resulted in only half of the desired effect. The net hit one of the horns, and hung there loosely. A cry of frustration escaped from Kotu's lips. The Kane-Ra heard her, and striked.

Kotu flew backwards in a neat arch, landing in the sea behind her and sinking deep beneath the surface. She didn't make any effort to swim back up, or to stop the column of air bubbles escaping from her lips. She just let the sea around her lull her body and the currents drag her around as her view became more and more cloudy and slowly faded to black…

Someone grabbed her arm and pulled it, dragging her limp body to the surface. She barely noticed, hanging between consciousness and unconsciousness as she was…

"Kotu! Kotu! Mata Nui! She's waking up Turaga, look!" Macku screeched. Kotu's eyes flattered open and she looked around to find out that she was in her hut, with both Turaga Nokama and Kotu bending over her. A glance outside the window told her that it was already dark.

"What… the Kane-Ra…? What happened to it?" she wanted to know. Every breath caused her a sharp pain at the height of the chest. She wondered whether the bull had piercedone of her lungs.

"What happened to _you, _is more like the right question," Turaga Nokama said sternly. "That bull hit you straight in the chest. You have more than one broken rib and you're just lucky neither of his horns got you. Macku saw you flying through the air and then fall underwater. She pulled you out that you were half dead."

So that was what had happened. Despite all, she had to sigh in relief. She had feared much worse.

"And… the bull?" she asked.

"We don't really know," Macku said. "After it hit you, it suddenly recoiled and started running away. But it got tangled in the net and kept falling. It took him a while to tear it to shreds, and then it went away, just like that."

Kotu frowned. She had no idea of what might had happened, unless…

"What happened to my bag?" she asked weakly.

"Macku pulled it out for you," Nokama said. "By the way, what was a Madu Cabolo doing inside it with the other herbs?"

"I…" Kotu muttered.

"Never mind, you'll explain when you'll be feeling better," Nokama said. "For now, just rest."

Kotu nodded, though inside, she smiled. _A _Madu Cabolo. Only one. She had picked _four _back in the jungle, and had used two against the Rahi. There should've been two left.

As she went to sleep, she could easily picture the last of the fruits fall out of the bag and right under the Rahi's nose, and if it hadn't been for the sharp pain she felt in her chest, she would've laughed at the thought of the dangerous Rahi being defeated by a stinky fruit.


End file.
